Texas Cites Big Rigs for Safety Violations

January 16, 2019August 15, 2018

You see them on big rigs when you’re driving on the roadways of greater El Paso – decals affixed to the large vehicles that ask “How’s my driving?” As it turns out, you may not want to know the answer.

During the June 5-7 operation by the Texas Department of Public Safety, 7,980 large commercial vehicles were inspected, with 1,975 ordered off the road, ranging from big rigs to buses, because they posed a danger due to bad brakes, worn tires and other violations. Specially trained state troopers partnered with civilian inspectors, compliance review investigators and local agencies on the operation.

If you think this year’s statistics are a fluke, think again, because the numbers are slowly creeping upward:

In 2017, 1,938 of 8,182 inspected vehicles (23.6 percent) were taken off the road.

In 2016, 1,751 of 7,795 inspected vehicles (22.5 percent) were ordered out of service.

When it came to the people behind the wheel, Roadcheck 2018 saw:

301 drivers placed out of service for offenses ranging from failure to have a proper license to driving beyond the allowed number of consecutive hours.

1,258 citations.

18,178 warnings.

While the people behind Roadcheck 2018 are to be commended for their work, the results serve as a stark reminder to motorists that the roadways of Texas can be unsafe for reasons that are beyond their control. It also appears obvious, based on the statistics of the past three years, that trucking companies and their drivers are not taking safety seriously.

As a motorist in Texas, you can't do much to protect yourself and your loved ones from large commercial vehicles and drivers that should not be on the road. You can take steps to be a safe and responsible driver yourself, of course, but you can't do anything about safety issues in other vehicles on the road.

Without warning, your vehicle could be demolished by an 18-wheeler with faulty brakes or because a sleep-deprived driver dozed off. Such a crash – between an 80,000-pound big rig and your 4,000-pound car – can leave you with devastating injuries that may never heal and enormous medical bills that you cannot afford to pay. Even worse, you may have suffered the loss of a loved one.

In addition, an insurance company will try to take advantage of your desperate situation by pressuring you into accepting a financial settlement that comes nowhere close to meeting your needs. You need someone willing to aggressively fight for your best interests, such as an El Paso truck accident attorney at The Law Offices of Michael J. Gopin, LLC. We have decades of experience of handling big rig cases.

For a free consultation in either English or Spanish, visit our website. You pay nothing unless we win your case.